Cinema Retro recently caught up with Dr. Wesley Britton, author of numerous books about spy movies and TV series, including his latest work, The Encyclopedia of TV Spies.

Britton, who runs the highly entertaining web site www.spywise.net, shared his thoughts on his love of the spy movie genre.

Q:
For those who haven’t heard about The
Encyclopedia of TV Spies, what can readers expect to find in it?

A:
Most of this book describes over 200 TV series from the U.K., the U.S, and even
Canada from 1951 to the present. This isn’t an episode guide or a directory of
cast and crew, but rather each alphabetical entry provides basic facts about
the shows along with behind-the-scenes information to hopefully give readers
some flavor of what each show was all about. It covers a wide range of series
from Adam Adamant Lives to They Young Rebels, so the scope is very
inclusive. It includes miniseries like Robert
Ludlum’s Hades Factor, “reality” shows like Spymaster, cartoons, children’s shows, and docu-dramas based on
historical events. There are also appendices discussing soundtracks and tie-in
novels. The book is 520 pages long, if that gives you any idea how detailed it
is.

Q:
Why would readers want a book like this when so much information is on the
internet?

A:
My first answer to that is, because so many obscure and short-running series
are included, readers will discover tons of shows they wouldn’t have known to
look for. Doomwatch? The Piglet Files? Frederick Forsythe Presents? I think that’s one great pleasure from
the book. I’ve already heard some readers are now seeking out DVDs of series
they never knew existed because the descriptions intrigued them. I’d also say
to be careful about what you find on the net. Interviewing some of the
participants, I picked up a number of errors repeated all over the place. In
addition, I’ve already done that research for you—along with interviews, books,
rare articles, you name it. For many series, all you can really find are
episode titles and lists of cast and crew. I wanted to go beyond that, Again,
trying to provide some flavor of each series thinking those who like certain
types of shows will get interested in seeing programs new to them.

I’ll
admit that if you’re looking for information about major series like I Spy or The Avengers, there’s no lack of other sources you can explore. In
an encyclopedia, my discussions of these series have to be limited because of
space. But I do have my own spin on things. For example, I include shows like The Adventures of Zorro and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and
explain how they do, believe it or not, connect to the spy genre.

Patrick Macnee and Honor Blackman in The Avengers

Q:
That raises an interesting point. How did you define what a spy series is and
why a show should be included in your book?

A:
Well, some shows might seem obvious, even though in the strictest terms, many
classic programs weren’t technically “spy shows” at all. From Danger Man to The Avengers, the leads were often really counter-spies or detectives,
investigating crimes that were on a larger scale than a murder or theft in a
certain city or locale. Many shows we think of as science fiction, like the
bionic series or even Wonder Woman, had
super-charged secret agents out there saving the world. When folks talk about
spy shows of the 1960s, they rarely mention hogan’s
Heroes, although each comic adventure had the team involved in covert
operations all over Germany. When Chris Carter talks about The X-Files, he often complains his show was more
detective/espionage than science fiction, the genre that show is usually lumped
into. It’s like the new Fringe, in
which FBI agents investigate all sorts of weird doings, just as Napoleon Solo
and Illya Kuryakin did in the old days. Only now, the adversaries are
government or corporate conspiracies. After all, Jack Bauer isn’t spying on
anyone, but he’s heavily involved with gathering intelligence, engaged in
covert ops, and analysis of Intel. So I include a number of series that have
espionage elements and point out why they should be considered as part of the
genre.

Q:
Do you think fans of the 1960s spy boom will be those most interested in this
book?

A:
Well, I hope the audience is wider than that, although I think fans of the “Spy
Renaissance” too will find insights and descriptions new to them. I found some
obscure tidbits about Robert Goulet’s Blue
Light, for but one example. I think American viewers will be surprised by
the number and variety of shows never broadcast here, many not yet available on
DVD. I think it’s interesting how many dramas from the 1950s set the stage for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the shows that followed it, early shows
like Dangerous Assignment, Five Fingers,
and Passport to Danger. I, too, was
surprised to learn there were nearly as many programs from the 1950s as 1960s.But the book covers later fan favorites as
well like La Femme Nikita, VR5, Burn
Notice, Alias . . . this is really a book for not only those into TV spies,
but TV history as a whole. Thankfully, the early reviews of the book say it’s a
fun read because it’s informative but not dry. I enjoyed writing it, and
hopefully that comes through in every entry.

Q:
Any viewing suggestions you’d like to pass along here? What are your favorites?

A:
Too many to tell, too many to tell. I won’t mention the obvious, but I’ll say
any TV watcher who hasn’t seen The
Sandbaggers is missing a treat. Right now, I’m really enjoying watching the
new DVD set of The Baron, a most
under-rated drama from the ‘60s. The Unit,
currently on CBS, is one of the best-written shows on covert ops ever. If you
can find copies, David Hedison’s Five
Fingers is a neglected nugget. It all depends on your taste—and you gotta
keep your eyes open. New DVDs are appearing all the time. I’m waiting to see
some of these shows myself.